


What would happen

by DefaultJane



Category: Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse), Hunniper
Genre: Drinking & Talking, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Hunniper - Freeform, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Self-Denial, Some Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-29
Updated: 2016-05-02
Packaged: 2018-06-05 05:30:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6691549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DefaultJane/pseuds/DefaultJane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leon and Helena decide Hunnigan’s working too hard and convince their introverted mission coordinator to go out and let her hair down. It doesn’t go exactly as planned, but on the bright side, Hunnigan does eventually get to Rickroll Helena.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sweet dreams

**Author's Note:**

> I realized that in every fic I’ve written, I’ve always made it so that Helena’s the one chasing Hunnigan (seems more natural to me for some reason), so I decided to try and write something more from Hunnigan’s point of view. And kudos to you if you catch the nods to Mass Effect and The Walking Dead... not that it’s hard, the references are more than obvious. xD  
> Standard disclaimer: Everything Resident Evil belongs to Capcom&pals, whatever original content there is/will be belong to yours truly.

Helena’s arm wrapped around Hunnigan from behind, lying flat against her abdomen, sliding down at a torturously slow pace. The younger woman let out an amused breath when Hunnigan involuntarily jumped a little when Helena intentionally let her fingernails tickle the sensitive bronzed skin as she circled Hunnigan’s navel before her hand traveled further down. Hunnigan tensed up and arched in Helena’s arms when the younger woman’s hand reached its destination. It was almost enough as it was, after all the teasing she’d just need a few lashes of her soft fingertip, just a bit more pressure, just one more...

...and then it was over. Hunnigan jolted awake, sucking in an almost startled gasp as she did, the ache blossoming between her legs going from sweet to downright painful when she denied herself that one little stroke it would’ve required for her to finish.

“Damn it,” she muttered, turned to lie on her stomach and tucked a pillow under her chin. For the longest time she’d dismissed wet dreams as something reserved mainly for adolescent boys, and despite knowing it wasn’t uncommon for women to have them too, she didn’t recall having any before. Not until recently. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what had brought them on.

It was a somewhat sad cocktail consisting partly of having foolishly developed a silly little girl crush on agent Harper (but in her defense, could anyone really blame her for that?) and partly of having been single for... well, a lot longer than she liked to admit. And of course to maximize the awkwardness, her subconscious had decided to take the cocktail and transform it into these ridiculously vivid erotic dreams that left her waking up just as she was about to go over the edge, and that feeling stayed with her the entire day, making it really difficult to even look at Helena without blushing like a lovestruck teenager.

“I’m too old for this crap,” she mumbled and got up. She turned her alarm clock off, it was ten to six in the morning and it didn’t need to go off ten minutes from now, she was already up. Frankly, she considered herself too old for a lot of crap. When she’d been younger, she’d imagined that by the time she’d reached her thirties, her life would be a lot different from what it had been then. It hadn’t quite turned out like that.

The only significant change had been in her line of work when she’d been hand-picked from the FBI’s Cyber Division to work for what had eventually become known as D.S.O. Everything else was... pretty much the same. She still lived in the same apartment, she was still single, she still hadn’t quite figured out how to make friends, she was still waiting for life to begin and evolve into something more... And worst of all, she was still in the closet and as straight as they came as far as her parents knew, which meant her mother kept practically pimping her to every decent enough single male she met.

Out of all the things she wanted to change, that fact she decided would probably be best left the way it was. Her mother was Dominican and her father of Irish descent, both from devout Catholic families which in return translated to Ingrid Hunnigan coming from one too. Knowing her parents, they’d go from trying to marry her off the to next eligible bachelor to downright disowning her for experiencing such “unnatural tendencies”.

 _Well, at least all that practice refraining from practically everything involving sexual activities is proving useful,_ she smirked. She knew what the teachings were, but she had never been eager to follow them. She figured God had better things to do than to keep tabs on her and whether or not she’d kept her hands over the blankets and above the waist, or whether she’d saved herself for marriage.

_Considering my preferences, I’m not even allowed to get married so, kind of blows the hell out of that really._

She couldn’t say why exactly she was choosing to deny herself the satisfaction she could’ve gotten effortlessly after having these kind of dreams. It certainly wasn’t because of religious reasons (she did believe in God, but she’d adopted a less psychotic approach to it than her parents had), it was more a question of... some odd sense of respect, she supposed. She almost felt like she should’ve asked for permission from the object of her desires... which was, quite frankly, ridiculous.

After a very cold shower, Hunnigan dressed and went to make breakfast. She was about to sit down to eat when there was a knock on the door. Sighing, she got up and went to answer the door wondering who could possibly require her presence in person at this hour. When she saw Helena at her doorstep, she felt what she assumed it must feel like to get punched in the stomach.

“Mornin’. Is this a bad time?”  
“No... What’s up?”

“Shepard forgot to give you the new keycard and I promised him I’d deliver it since I live nearby,” Helena explained, handing over the deep blue card with the D.S.O. logo and Hunnigan’s name engraved on it.  
“Thanks,” she muttered, accepting the card, unable to keep a sharp jolt of arousal from lancing through her when her fingertips made contact with Helena’s as the card was passed from her to Hunnigan.

 _Oh, for the love of..._ she groaned internally at her own reactions. She then frowned deeply when Helena suddenly drew her weapon.

“Don’t move.”  
“What are you doing?”

“There’s a snake behind you,” Helena responded, stabilizing her aim.  
“Ah, damn it!” Hunnigan scoffed and put her hand over Helena’s wrist, pushing down to gently but firmly keep her from aiming at the snake.

“What are _you_ doing?” Helena questioned.  
“It’s okay, it’s my pet,” Hunnigan said and went to pick up the snake from the floor. It slithered up her arm, twisting itself around it, seemingly pleased and proud for having managed to escape from the tank.

“You have a pet snake?” Helena quirked an eyebrow and Hunnigan nodded.  
“He’s a harmless Mexican milk snake,” she said, extending her arm a little so that Helena could take a better look at the reddish snake with cream and black bands decorating the length of its body.

“What’s his name?” Helena inquired, slowly holstering her weapon.  
“Carl/Coral.”

“...why is that his name?” Helena then frowned and Hunnigan smiled a little.  
“Well, I refer to it as ‘him’, but determining a snake’s gender accurately isn’t a simple matter of just looking at its nether region, so I don’t really know if it’s a male or a female, hence the name,” Hunnigan explained, “You wanna hold him?”

“Uh... sure, why not,” Helena chuckled.  
“He might nip you if he thinks you smell like food, but it won’t kill you,” Hunnigan warned with a grin. Helena quirked an eyebrow. Didn’t snakes eat mice and such? If Carl/Coral bit her, Helena decided she’d have no choice but to feel offended for being mistaken for a rodent. The snake’s tongue darted out repeatedly as he reached toward Helena to quickly and effortlessly slide over to her extended arm.

“He looks almost like he’s liquid,” Helena commented as she marveled at the colorful creature squirming over and wrapping itself around her hand and wrist.  
“Also, he’s a constrictor, but don’t freak out if he starts squeezing, just take a hold of his tail and unwrap.”

Carl/Coral didn’t nip or squeeze, instead the docile reptile explored the new human’s scent and the landscape of her arms and hands. The women let him explore for a while before Hunnigan unwrapped him from Helena’s arm and went to return him to his tank.

“Are you hungry? I was just about to eat, you’re welcome to join me,” Hunnigan then offered, unable to determine what possessed her to utter those words let alone how she let them escape her lips. Helena hesitated for a moment before slowly shaking her head then. Truth was, she was hungry, but she didn’t want to intrude. Interrupting the other woman’s breakfast by turning up at her door and then almost shooting her pet was kind of embarrassing, intruding further wouldn’t make it less awkward.

“Nah, I’m good,” she finally responded, unconvincingly.  
“You hesitated and I’m pretty sure I can hear your stomach grumbling,” Hunnigan smirked, crossing her arms over her abdomen as she quirked an eyebrow.

“I don’t want to trouble you, I’ve taken too much of your time already,” Helena tried dismissing.  
“It’s no trouble, it’ll literally take me about half a minute to make an omelette once the pan’s hot. Come on,” the older woman said and turned to head toward the kitchen, and Helena followed.

Hunnigan’s apartment was one of those L-shaped studio apartments with an alcove to serve as the bedroom. It was bigger than the average studio apartment, but still somewhat smaller than what Helena had expected. Looking at the way the early morning sunlight was pouring in from the windows and coloring everything with its warm orange tint, she could see the attraction of the place though. Also it was at a decent neighborhood and the location was convenient considering where she worked. Besides, considering she lived alone (well, aside from Carl/Coral who was a barely a little over twenty inches long and didn’t require a huge tank), why would she want excess rooms?

“I guess you can tell I’m not really used to having guests,” Hunnigan chuckled as she broke a couple of eggs into a mug, threw in some spices and a drop of milk, and proceeded to vigorously whisk it all together with a fork.  
“What do you mean?” Helena inquired as she took a seat in the living room area which had to double as a dining room as well seeing as the kitchen was too tiny for a table.

“I’m kind of an introvert, I just assumed the fact that I never invite people over shows,” Hunnigan shrugged and poured the eggs into the skillet.  
“You’re doing fine,” Helena laughed softly. She took a moment to look around the living room. There were a lot of books, some CDs and few movies, but other than that, not a lot that would tell anything about the owner. Frankly, Helena found herself wondering if Hunnigan ever did anything for fun.

“You play?” she asked when she noticed the keyboard on a stand in the back of the room, now evidently used more as a flat surface for storing a pile of shirts and jeans rather than for its intended purpose.  
“Used to, my mom wanted me to become a cantor when I grew up, so it was piano lessons and singing lessons and what have you as soon as I was old enough for them. Needless to say all that kind of sucked the joy out of those activities... and honestly, I’m not much of a singer,” Hunnigan chuckled as she plated the omelette, grabbed the utencils and went to hand the plate to Helena.

“I can play the most awesome Charlie Brown-medley you ever heard, but I don’t really play much nowadays to be honest,” she then shrugged then and took a seat.  
“So, what _do_ you do for fun?” Helena inquired, leaned back in the arm chair she was occupying and balanced her plate over her knee.

“...I don’t know. Nothing out of the ordinary really. Read, listen to music, watch Netflix, browse cat videos and memes... Wow, that sounds super boring when I say it out loud,” Hunnigan mumbled after a short pause, realizing that Helena’s idea of doing something for fun probably involved more things like going out with friends and all those other things Hunnigan had never understood could be considered fun. For her, extended social interactions in crowded spaces were more exhausting than fun.  
“Naw, you just sound like the introvert you said you are,” Helena chuckled.

***


	2. Don't you need

_I haven’t wet the bed in thirty years and it’s not that time of the month for me so it’s not blood either. This is really starting to annoy me,_ Hunnigan thought when she woke in a wet patch and realized the slickness of arousal spread halfway down her thighs as well. She kicked the blanket aside and sat up, letting out a frustrated scowl as she did. Frustrated at the stains, frustrated at the mere thought of having had an orgasm in her sleep, furious at her body for having the audacity of being involved in such unauthorized activities.

“Why do you do this?” she asked, glaring at her lap and sighing agitatedly as she stood up, gathered the sheets and went to throw them into the washing machine, painfully aware of the shameless wetness between her legs as she moved.

After a quick shower and breakfast, she left the coffee to brew and went to check on the baby rat she’d had thawing in the fridge overnight. She put it in some warm water to heat it up a little before offering it to Carl/Coral. A lot of people cringed at feeding snakes, Hunnigan didn’t understand why. It happened in nature, difference was the prey was alive there, not pre-killed. Occasionally, as a treat, Hunnigan did offer Carl/Coral live prey, but she didn’t often risk her snake getting injured by a live rodent defending itself against the hungry reptile.

“Hello, my name is Ingrid, I’ll be your waitress and your chef, and today I have for you... a delicious, delicious baby rat, lovingly prepared in... the fridge and warm water, just the way you like ‘em,” Hunnigan chatted to the snake as she opened the tank and coaxed Carl/Coral out from beneath the half round bark he was hiding under. She picked up the rodent with the feeding tongs and presented Carl/Coral with it. He hesitated for a few seconds before eagerly latching onto the prey’s head and beginning to devour it.

“Hey, you’re supposed to chew thirty times before you swallow,” Hunnigan jested as she sat back by the tank with her coffee and watched the snake eat. She was stalling, she didn’t really feel like going to work and facing Helena today, not after yet another somewhat mortifying dream Helena had starred in.

“I can imagine how calling in sick would be like. ‘No, I can’t come in today. Wet dreams about a co-worker. Very awkward’. I bet that would go over well,” Hunnigan snorted. Carl/Coral had nothing to add, he finished devouring his food, leaving Hunnigan with zero excuses to stay at home.

“You’re not helping,” she quirked an eyebrow at him and in response, he flicked his tongue out at her.

 

* * *

 

“Is it just my imagination or is Hunnigan in a super bitchy mood today?” Helena mumbled to Leon as they headed toward the break room after sitting through a briefing Hunnigan had delivered spiced with extra fire and brimstone. Helena almost felt bad for the agent who’d practically gotten his head torn off for asking a question. Admittedly, his question had been a stupid one _(“If we know where the bad guys are, why won’t we just go in the get them?”),_ but it wasn’t like Hunnigan to lose her temper even with the stupid questions _(“Because all we have is a rumored location from an unconfirmed asset, going in without further intelligence would be about as smart as diving head first into unknown waters, so unless everyone wants to risk having their skulls cracked, we’re not making a move until we have more information. Next question!”)._

“Thank goodness, I thought I was the only one who felt that way,” Leon smirked as he poured himself coffee and took a seat.  
“I wonder what’s up, she seemed fine yesterday,” Helena frowned a little.  
“Maybe she just needs to get laid,” Leon shrugged and Helena quirked an eyebrow.

“I’m amazed you haven’t offered to help her with that,” she snickered into her coffee mug and Leon chuckled. He was aware of his reputation and that some people considered him a bit of a playboy, but the truth was, he preferred shameless, playful flirting over actually doing anything... at least when it came to women he worked with. He admitted to having thought about it, he was relatively certain he wasn’t the only man in the world who’d, frankly put, at least once thought about fucking his female friends... but he wouldn’t seriously act on it, he knew that more than often fucking fucked everything up.

“I don’t think I’m her type,” he shrugged innocently.  
“You don’t consider yourself someone’s type? I gotta call the Pope, this surely counts as a miracle,” Helena taunted and Leon laughed softly.

“Hey, I would totally be her type if I were equipped with the right parts. Alas, currently, I think you’d be more her type,” he grinned and took a bite off his sandwich before washing it down with coffee.  
“Is that so?” Helena’s eyebrow rose in surprise, “She doesn’t set off my gaydar at all,” she then mused, shaking her head a little.

“And why would I?” Hunnigan inquired agitatedly from the door, startling Helena badly enough to make her spill her coffee.

“I didn’t mean it like that, I just...” she stammered.  
“I’d imagine you two would have better things to do than to sit here gossipping about my personal life,” the intelligence liaison scowled, grabbed her salad from the fridge and slammed the door shut with such force the glass bottles inside clinked.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t...” Helena tried to apologize, but Hunnigan wasn’t listening, instead she marched out with sharp, agitated steps.  
“Ouch,” Leon finally commented after she’d gone.  
“You could’ve warned me that she was standing right behind me,” Helena narrowed her eyes at him as she reached to grab a paper towel and wiped the spilled coffee from the table’s wooden surface.

“I don’t talk with my mouth full, I was raised right,” Leon said innocently and Helena was tempted to slap the back of his head.  
“I think she needs a night out. We should take her like... clubbin’ or something,” Helena then said and Leon burst out laughing, coughing up a piece of bread. He shook his head and swallowed hard before commenting.

“Can you really imagine her at a club, glowsticking like there’s no tomorrow?”  
“No, which exactly why I must see it actually happen.”

 

* * *

 

“Hey...” Helena began quietly as she walked up to Hunnigan’s desk. The older woman glared at her and proceeded to ignore her then, returning her attention to the field reports filling her screen.

“Look, I’m sorry about the stupid comment I made. I didn’t mean anything by it, and for what it’s worth, we weren’t gossipping exactly, it’s just... You seemed pissed off even prior to my thoughtless remark, and...”  
“Well, excuse me, I haven’t had sex in half a decade and it’s starting to get on my nerves. That the answer you were looking for?” Hunnigan inquired venomously. She’d delivered her comment with a sarcastic tone which implied she had been exaggerating, but as she paused to think about it for a few seconds, she realized she hadn’t been. Actually it had been over half a decade.

_Wow. Well, that’s... disappointing,_ she thought silently.

“Of course it isn’t, and I...” Helena began but didn’t know how to continue. She sighed deeply and hung her head a little.  
“I’m sorry. Let me make it up to you, let’s go out. Drinks are on me,” she tried then, wishing she didn’t come across as transparent as she knew she was being. A fool’s wish, as if she could honestly slip something like that past Hunnigan.

“No thanks.”

“Oh, come on! When’s the last time you went out?” Helena argued.  
“Not long enough ago. I don’t like going out, I don’t much like dealing with people, it’s exhausting. My idea of fun is staying at home doing nothing.”

“Hunnigan. Seriously. I get it, I don’t always feel like dealing with people either, but it could be fun. Who knows, you might even meet someone interesting,” she grinned and Hunnigan rolled her eyes.

“Who the hell says I want to meet someone?” she questioned at the presumption and Helena shrugged.  
“Well, you don’t need to keep them around forever,” she offered and Hunnigan burst out laughing, shaking her head.

“Oh, God. You really don’t know me at all.”  
“How could I? Just another reason why you should agree to hang out with me and give me a chance to get to know you,” Helena reasoned with a smug smile tugging the corner of her mouth.

“I’m gonna regret agreeing to this, aren’t I?” Hunnigan sighed.  
“If you don’t, you’re not doing it right.”

“Okay. Fine. I’ll let you drag me out of my lair, but I reserve the right to spontaneuously abandon you the moment I want to go home.”  
“Deal,” Helena chuckled.

***

 


	3. How soon is now?

 

After spending a ridiculous amount of time rummaging through her closet in a desperate attempt to find something that could be considered suitable for going out, Hunnigan was on the verge of giving up after realizing how little casual clothing she owned.

 _Or maybe it’s just me, I turn everything I wear into a business-look somehow. Talk about a useless superpower,_ she thought as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. She was wearing a white sleeveless collared shirt and denim jeans, and somehow she still thought she looked like she was on her way to the office.

“Screw it, it’s not like I’m going to a damn fashion show... or even if I end up at one, I sure as hell won’t be modeling,” she muttered, discarted the collared shirt and pulled on a black T-shirt instead. She then finished the outfit with a cropped leather jacket (she hadn’t even remembered she owned until she’d seen it in the back of the closet). She shrugged it on and looked at herself again. Better, but she still wasn’t sure. She felt awkward. There was a knock on the door and she went to answer it. She’d been expecting Helena, but was instead greeted by Leon.

“Well, look at you, you stylish fella, you!” she commented at the sight of him in black jeans and a deep red collared shirt that hugged his figure tightly, complimenting and bringing out his broad shoulders and chest, the outfit completed by the black fedora with a red band decorating it resting somewhat crookedly on his head.

“Why, thank you Ms. Hunnigan, lookin’ mighty fine yourself, if I may say so,” he responded, took the hat off and bowed his head a little, eliciting a soft chuckle from Hunnigan.  
“You’re a shameless liar, I feel like a librarian pushing sixty, desperately trying to pass for a twenty-something.”

“I don’t agree,” Leon shook his head.  
“I’m beginning to consider not going at all,” she sighed then.

“Aw, come on, it’ll be fun.”  
“I _know_ it won’t be.”

“Don’t be so negative, give it a chance, you never know...” Leon began when his argument was interrupted by Helena’s voice as she made her way across the hallway and toward Hunnigan’s door.  
“Geez, and I thought I was slow, what’s taking you two so long?” she inquired, her unsually cheerful tone implying she already had a couple of drinks in her.

“Hunnigan’s planning on bailing out on us,” Leon tattled.  
“Thanks a lot, Leona,” Hunnigan narrowed her eyes, using a feminine version of his name to taunt him for being such a bitch. Instead of being offended, he burst out laughing at that.

“Oh, no you don’t. Got your essentials like keys and wallet on you?”  
“Yes...”

“Excellent,” Helena said and without further warning, grabbed Hunnigan by the arm and yanked hard, pulling the woman out of the apartment and kicking the door shut behind her and began dragging Hunnigan with her toward the exit. Hunnigan groaned in exasperation and followed reluctantly.

“How blind are you without your glasses?” Helena then asked once they were seated in the backseat of the cab that had been waiting for them.  
“Pretty blind, the glasses stay on,” Hunnigan said sternly.

“Fine, but the hair comes down,” Helena decided for her and without waiting for permission, she leaned over Leon, who was stuck in the middle seat inbetween the two women, doing his best to flatten himself against the back of the seat as Helena reached to undo the French twist Hunnigan had tied her hair up to earlier.

“Much better,” Helena smiled, pleased with her handiwork as she ran her fingers through the other woman’s hair and mussed it a little. Had it been anyone other than Helena, Hunnigan would’ve swatted the hands away in annoyance; if she’d wanted her hair down, she would’ve left it down, damn it.

“You’re already regretting this, aren’t you?” Helena jested.  
“Deeply.”  
“You’re so serious it’s funny.”  
“Well, I’m glad one of us is entertained,” Hunnigan commented dryly.

“We gotta get her drunk,” Helena commented to Leon and he nodded.  
“Now, Hunnigan drunk... that’s something I’m willing to pay to see,” he grinned.  
“Great, drinks are on you then!”  
“Hey, I didn’t mean... Aw, crap. Fine, first round’s on me, then you’re on your own,” Leon chuckled.

_Women._

“Oh, I have a present for you to get you in the mood,” Helena began suddenly.  
“Uuhh... what are you..? That’s...” Hunnigan stuttered when Helena undid a couple of buttons of her shirt and revealed an unnecessarily generous view of her cleavage. Even Leon cleared his throat awkwardly at the young woman’s antics as he turned to stare intensely at the back of the driver’s head. The driver on the other hand seemed to have no problem staring at Helena through the rear view mirror.

“Here!” she said and dug out a glow stick from her cleavage.  
“...you carry glow sticks in your bra?” Hunnigan quirked an eyebrow in disbelief.

“Only on special occasions,” Helena teased and put the item in question into Hunnigan’s hand. It was still warm from having been pressed snugly between Helena’s breasts. Hunnigan had to almost shake her head as she tried to get rid of the idea and not to think about it... but her mind was already wandering, stubbornly conjuring up mental images of naked smooth skin, the soft curves in just the right places alternating with the solid muscles in others. She bit on her tongue and the inside of her cheek as she wondered what Helena’s skin would taste like, what it would feel like. What her fingernails would feel like digging into Hunnigan’s shoulders, would she arch her back, would she moan or would she groan, all those questions and every possible answer just as good as the other.

 _I’m making a huge mistake,_ Hunnigan thought grimly and swallowed hard.

“You hear that, Leon? I’m a special occasion,” she jested out loud then.  
“Well, you gotta admit, this is certainly one for the history books,” Leon chuckled as they arrived at their destination.  
“Ladies. Shall we?” he grinned, put his arms around the women’s shoulders and began walking toward the club like he was the king of the world. Helena and Hunnigan chuckled softly at his antics and exchanged a knowing glance.

 

* * *

 

The loud music ensured no one was having any kind of a decent conversation... not that there was much to converse about anyway. Hunnigan sipped her drink slowly as she watched the people in the crowded room. The majority of them looked like they weren’t even old enough to drink. A few people had approached her and asked her if she wanted to dance. She didn’t. She preferred watching from the sidelines. It was far more entertaining.

She took a moment to take advantage of being able to watch Helena outside the usual situations they were used to interacting in. The younger woman was busy on the dance floor, her body moving like it was semi-liquid, her motions in flawless sync with the Korean pop song’s beat, lights washing over her as she danced smoothly, the fog on the dance floor swirling around her and her moves. Hunnigan’s eyebrow quirked when she noticed a tall guy make his way to Helena and nod at her, as if silently requesting to join her. She didn’t appear to react to him, but he didn’t take that as a no. Hunnigan laughed out loud when Helena ducked the guy’s attempt at slipping his arms over her shoulders. She then drove her elbow up, letting it smash into his chest hard, disguising the assault as an accidental dance move gone wrong. Had he not been so tall, she would’ve ended up smashing his jaw. Helena shrugged and mouthed an insincere apology before leaving the scene of her crime, disappearing into the cloud of smoke and other dancers.

Hunnigan turned her attention elsewhere and focused on watching the guy with the ball-crushing skinny jeans and a muscle shirt –sans the muscles– trying to pick up a cute Asian girl. She was practically rolling her eyes at the dude who seemed completely oblivious to this and kept trying... until Leon went over to the lady’s rescue. Hunnigan chuckled at the outraged and disappointed look the skinny jean-dude got on his face when he contemplated on maybe punching Leon.

 _Now that would be interesting. Go on, dude, throw a punch. Just for the hell of it,_ Hunnigan mentally encouraged him, knowing Leon would undoubtedly manage to dodge it easily, and probably impress the woman standing next to him by doing so. The skinny jean-dude didn’t go for it though, instead he swiveled around and headed to the bar as the woman turned her attention to Leon and practically flattened herself against his body.

“You look like you’ll murder anyone if they have the audacity to approach you,” Helena said into Hunnigan’s ear, interrupting her intense studying of the scene unfolding a few tables away –a woman literally throwing herself at an unfortunate man who wasn’t prepared or a willing participant in the act. Hunnigan shivered at the feel of Helena’s breath in her ear, the younger woman was still out of breath from having spent the past few minutes on the dance floor.

“Maybe I will,” Hunnigan jested and Helena rolled her eyes as she leaned against the small table and sipped her drink.  
“You’re not even trying!”

“Trying what? To hook up with a random stranger?” Hunnigan quirked an eyebrow.  
“Getting laid once a decade ain’t gonna kill you. Well, provided you use protection at least,” Helena laughed.

“Not interested,” Hunnigan shook her head.

“Well, why not?” Helena interrogated, sucking on the straw hard enough to dent her cheeks as she finished her drink. Hunnigan took a sip of her own drink, the single one she’d been nursing the entire time they’d been here. The copious amount of ice had melted long ago, diluting the drink into barely more than water, but she didn’t mind, she was intentionally avoiding intoxication to ensure she wouldn’t make any drunken mistakes... like confess to having developed feelings for Helena.

“Why should I be?” Hunnigan questioned back. While she wasn’t the type to judge anyone else should they be inclined to enjoy casual sex over long-term relationships, she also knew one night stands weren’t for her. Frankly, the mere idea of waking up in a stranger’s bed (or worse, waking up with a stranger in her bed) was just upsetting to her.

“Because your pet snake isn’t gonna keep you warm at night.”  
“I’ve got blankets to keep me warm at night,” Hunnigan responded dryly and Helena burst out laughing.  
“You are impossible,” she shook her head, still chuckling, “Okay, so what is it that you’re looking for?”

“I don’t recall ever saying I was looking for anything, it’s everyone else who seems convinced that I can’t possibly be happy by myself,” Hunnigan answered, getting a bit frustrated with this line of questioning. She’d had to repeat it all to her parents countless of times, she didn’t need this crap from her co-workers or friends as well. Why was it so difficult to accept that some people genuinely were happier alone?

“Fair enough,” Helena gave in, “Come on, let’s dance!”  
“I do not dance!” Hunnigan protested, but Helena wasn’t about to take no for an answer.

“You do now!” she said, gripping the other woman’s arm and dragging her toward the dance floor, “Keep me safe, it’s like swimming in dick soup if I’m alone,” she laughed then.

“Gross,” Hunnigan groaned. Luckily for her, their trip to the dance floor was interrupted by Leon who stumbled into them.  
“Save me,” he pleaded, moving to stand behind Hunnigan.

“Why do I always gotta save you two?” Hunnigan scoffed.  
“What the hell did you do?” Helena quirked an eyebrow at Leon.

“She looks harmless, but she’s a bit too intense,” Leon muttered, nodding discreetly toward the woman he’d chatted with earlier. Helena rolled her eyes and went to get another drink, deciding she wanted nothing to do with Leon’s drama.  
“Seriously, Leon? You’re scared of _her?_ ” Hunnigan taunted.

“She made a pretty violent grab at my boy parts, that’s a deal breaker,” he defended himself, “If she asks, I’m with you,” he then said, wrapping his arms around Hunnigan’s waist from behind, essentially using her as a human shield.

“My hero,” Hunnigan rolled her eyes.  
“Screw that, you be my hero,” he grinned, tugging her into an awkward dance of sorts.

“Fine, but if you even attempt to grind against me, I will do worse things to your boy parts than make a grab for them,” she threatened, easing into his movements, having to admit he was a pretty good dancer.

“It’s a risk I gotta take, isn’t it,” Leon grinned, twirling her around before pulling her to himself. Hunnigan chuckled at him, arching her back a little as he insisted on dipping her, proceeding on with dance moves that were impressive but not exactly suited for the music playing at the club.

 _Oh, crap,_ Hunnigan then thought when she saw the woman notice them and begin making a beeline for Leon. This would undoubtedly end up in a bitch slapping contest. And for what, a misunderstanding.

_I should’ve stayed at home._

For the first time the entire night, Hunnigan was glad the music was turned up at a ridiculous volume, she couldn’t hear a word of what the agitated woman was saying. Her body language and the hostile finger pointing certainly made her point even if her words were unintelligible. Hunnigan didn’t even bother trying to explain that she wasn’t interested in Leon in that way.

“You’re on your own,” she told Leon and turned to leave, but the agitated woman obviously wasn’t finished arguing, too drunk and furious to realize her opponent wasn’t even genuinely paying attention.

 _Here we go,_ Hunnigan sighed when she felt the fingernails dig into her arm (if the woman had grabbed at Leon in a similar manner earlier, Hunnigan couldn’t blame him for running away) and yank her back. She was expecting a bitch slap or at the very least to get a drink thrown into her face, but didn’t receive either, thanks to Helena who returned from the bar just in time to intercept. She reached to break the woman’s grip on Hunnigan’s arm and to prove a point, pulled Hunnigan to herself and planted a passionate kiss onto her lips. Everyone froze, especially Hunnigan.

Helena laughed devilishly at the blank expression on Leon and the other woman’s faces before firmly wrapping her arm around Hunnigan’s waist and nudging her to move, escaping the scene and pulling Hunnigan with her, leaving Leon to fend for himself.

“Why did you do that!”  
“It worked, didn’t it?” Helena chuckled breathlessly after they’d made it across the club, safely lost in the crowd.

 _A little too well,_ Hunnigan thought, inhaling deeply as she tried smothering the flames in the pit of her stomach and the sweet ache that blossomed between her legs thanks to the kiss.

“I’m gonna go home now,” she said then, trying to stubbornly forget the what the kiss had felt and tasted like... and realizing that the harder she tried, the more persistent the memory became. Soft, warm, demanding, somewhat slick... leaving behind a bittersweet after taste of strawberry, kiwi and vodka.

“Wait for me!” Helena requested, hastily finishing her drink in a couple of hurried gulps, and then following Hunnigan.

They shared a cab and sat in silence until they got to Hunnigan’s apartment building. She quirked an eyebrow when Helena got out as well, she’d assumed the younger woman would continue on for a few more blocks to her own apartment. Instead, she dismissed the cab after getting out.

“Look... about the comment I made at work... I really didn’t mean to offend you,” Helena then apologized once more as they stood by the entrance to the building.  
“It’s fine,” Hunnigan shrugged.

“No, it’s not. I know you value your privacy and you’re right, it’s not anyone’s business. I shouldn’t have said anything.”  
“Apology accepted. Besides, I’m sure there are worse things being said about me on a regular basis,” Hunnigan said, fully aware that her desire for privacy did indeed leave a lot of room for gossip... and that a surprisingly large amount of the people at the office enjoyed engaging in idle gossip.

“I wouldn’t know, I don’t pay much attention honestly. But... is it true though? That you prefer women?”  
“What difference does it make?” Hunnigan snapped.

“There’s no need to get so defensive, I’m not asking because...”  
“I’m not getting defensive, I just don’t see the point of this line of questioning,” Hunnigan interrupted impatiently.

“You know, you’re making it really difficult to get to know you,” Helena quirked an eyebrow.  
“What’s there to know?” the older woman inquired and Helena sighed deeply.

“I try to chat with you, but you deflect everything with sarcasm or answer my questions with questions. I’d want to know you, I’d want us to be friends.”  
“You must be truly desperate for friendship if you want to be friends with me,” Hunnigan said with a tiny smirk.

“See, this is exactly what I mean,” Helena muttered, shaking her head a little.  
“Well, I’m sorry, I guess I’m not exactly friend-material.”

“You’re not even trying, instead you seem determined to just brush everything off. It’s a two-way street, you know. Unless, of course, the reason you’re not putting any effort into this is because you don’t want to be my friend,” Helena then said slowly when she realized that.

“That’s not it,” Hunnigan denied quickly, “I... I’m just not good at it, I’m too used to being by myself so devoting attention and energy to friends is... challenging. Plus, frankly, who I am isn’t really all that interesting,” she said.

“Who you are isn’t the problem; the problem is that no one knows who you _really_ are,” Helena reasoned.

They stood in silence for a moment after that, neither one really knowing what to add to what had been said. The cool September evening wind lured a tiny shudder from Helena and she sighed, knowing she should just give up for tonight and head home, but she didn’t really want to. It was relatively early, she was still kind of buzzed and would’ve wanted to prolong the evening. She doubted Hunnigan shared her enthusiasm.

“Do you smoke?” Helena broke the silence, offering her pack to Hunnigan after digging out a cigarette for herself.  
“Not since my dad caught me once upon a time and used the good old ‘you want to smoke, then smoke an entire damn pack’-method of punishment,” Hunnigan shook her head. She’d never been as sick in her life as she had been after that. Granted, it had worked, she’d never smoked a single cigarette since then and to this day, the mere thought made her cringe.

“Wow. Imagine if you came out from the closet to him, he’d probably make you sleep with every lesbian in town,” Helena vexed and lit the cigarette hanging between her lips.

“Who said I’m in the closet?” Hunnigan quirked an eyebrow.  
“Your behavior,” Helena chuckled, blowing out a cloud of gray smoke.  
“Fair enough I suppose,” the older woman shrugged then.

“Look, about the kiss... I’m sorry. I didn’t think... well, evidently I don’t think a lot of things through these days...” Helena then apologized again.  
“It’s okay,” Hunnigan said, hoping to sound nonchalant about it and to hide the fact that it was the first kiss she’d had in years, literally. And that it hadn’t been an unpleasant kiss either if she was honest.

“So we’re good? You’re not gonna assign me for shit-jobs to get back at me?” Helena teased.

“As if I were childish enough to do something like that,” Hunnigan smirked and they both chuckled. Helena then glanced at her watch and Hunnigan mimicked the gesture, for different reasons. Helena had done it to see if it was too late to head to the liquor store, Hunnigan did it to see if it was too early to go to bed.

“I don’t wanna go home. Let’s buy a bottle of whiskey and hang out,” Helena said, her tone making it more a statement than a request.  
“I’m too old for such shenanigans,” Hunnigan shook her head.

“Pfft, you’re too young to say that you’re too old for something. Come on!” Helena said, gripped Hunnigan by the wrist and began pulling her with her once again. Hunnigan sighed and followed reluctantly, wishing she would’ve had the willpower to genuinely resist Helena.

 

***


	4. Love to my Cobain

Apart from indulging herself with a few drinks now and then while relaxing with a good book or a movie, Hunnigan wasn’t much of a drinker. Despite that, she knew well how the stages of drunkenness progressed. You start off with a nice pleasant buzz, you’re in a good mood, having fun, enjoying yourself... until you overdo it and tip over to the zone of “I feel like puking”, and tumble from there to crying about how Jenny from fifth grade didn’t invite you to her birthday party decades ago. Or, alternatively, you pick a fight with a significant other because of something you perceived as a nasty remark... Or drunk-dial an ex perhaps. Or basically just do and say any number of things you’re ensured to regret in the morning. Helena was currently balancing on the edge of that, slowly but steadily slipping from being happily drunk to being miserable.

“You know, the truth is... I don’t really, I mean, I act like... But things aren’t all right,” she slurred a little, slowly shaking her head as she sat cross-legged on the floor of Hunnigan’s living room, cuddling a glass of whiskey in her lap.

“Okay?” Hunnigan said quietly, not sure what the younger woman had meant exactly. She took a sip of her own drink which was more Cola than whiskey.

“Well, you know how I am. I’m hardly easy to befriend. And after Deborah, I... don’t really have anyone. I suppose most of my friends were really her friends, and now that she’s gone... Okay, this is coming out wrong. It’s not like you said, I’m not trying to be friends with you out of desperation, I really like spending time with you and I really do want to be friends. But, honestly, I really am... lonely,” Helena confessed.

“I get it. Just because I prefer being by myself, it doesn’t mean I don’t occasionally get lonely too,” Hunnigan nodded.  
“I don’t know how you do it, I wouldn’t know how to be alone so much.”

“I guess it’s a matter of being comfortable enough with myself to be able to be alone,” Hunnigan shrugged.  
“Yeah, well... I don’t like myself enough for that,” Helena chuckled ruefully.

“Why don’t you?” Hunnigan then inquired and Helena paused to ponder about it. She emptied her glass and sighed. She couldn’t say, she didn’t have a definite reason she could pinpoint as the source of her need to distract herself from her own thoughts and feelings that bubbled up if she was left alone for too long.

“When I was younger, I was this ridiculously angsty teen. I used to just lie in bed and whine about everything, sometimes I’d cut myself and shit like that, you know, the whole nine yards of being super emo,” Helena began another confession, paused for a moment and chuckled at her younger self then.

“The most ridiculous thing is that nothing was really wrong. Absolutely nothing. I come from a decent family, my parents were good people. I was a horrible sister to Deborah for the longest time. It took me too long and too much to grow up. I didn’t, not until mom and dad died in that fucking car accident and all of a sudden I was expected to look after Deborah,” she continued, sniffling a little. Hunnigan remained silent, she didn’t know what to say. She was an only child, raised with the firm belief that gentle negligence breeds independence, she’d spent her entire life more or less alone, it was a natural state of being for her.

“And even then... Anyway, my point is, I screwed everything up. I couldn’t protect her. My own sister. It’s like... when I’m alone, all that just gets multiplied by infinity, and I just want to die, but I can’t even do that. Believe me, I’ve tried and thought about it, but I can’t bring myself to pull the fucking trigger,” Helena scowled, the taste of metal and gun oil taking over her sense of taste at the memory of having held the barrel of her gun in her mouth.

“Helena...” Hunnigan breathed, somewhat shocked at the younger woman’s confession. She’d known things had been tough, but she had never considered Helena the suicidal type. If anything, she seemed quite the opposite, frankly more likely to go on a homicidal rampage rather than take her own life... Not that doing that was an ideal solution either.

“I know, I know, please don’t give me a lecture, just listen.”  
“Okay...”

“...well, actually, that’s all I got. I just... I’m really not coping as well as I like to pretend that I am.”  
“Well, for what it’s worth, as far as I’m concerned, you don’t have to be. And even if I don’t come across as a good listener or as decent friend material, I’m here if you want to talk... and I’m not going anywhere.”

“Thanks... and please, don’t worry about me because of what I told you. I’m not gonna do anything stupid,” Helena assured then. Hunnigan wasn’t sure if she was quite convinced, but nodded in agreement despite that. What choice did she have but to take Helena’s word for it?

“I don’t feel so good,” Helena then muttered. Hunnigan moved to help her up and directed her to the bathroom quickly when the younger woman doubled over, pressing her palm over her mouth to suppress the gag-reflex.

“It’s okay, just... get it all out,” Hunnigan mumbled, holding Helena’s hair back and rubbing a soft circle on her back when Helena bent over the toilet bowl.

“M’kay, I think I’m done...” Helena huffed after several minutes of retching.  
“You sure?”

“Mm-hm,” Helena nodded weakly. Hunnigan helped her back to her feet and directed her to the bed.

 _Not exactly how I’d imagined bedding you, but hey, at least you’re there,_ she mused as she helped Helena peel away her top layer of clothing and removed her shoes before tucking her in. She was about to stand and go over to the couch when Helena pulled her back and into the bed with her.

“I wanna cuddle,” she mumbled in a pouty tone, as if Hunnigan should’ve realized not to go anywhere.  
“That’s not... a good idea.”  
“Please.”  
“All right...” Hunnigan sighed and stripped down to her underwear before settling to lie beside the younger woman on the bed.

 _Oh, God, this feels so good it has to be wrong,_ she sighed internally when Helena wrapped her arm around her and spooned her tightly. Hunnigan knew she wouldn’t get any sleep tonight, not just because she was childishly giddy about having Helena so close, but also because she simply didn’t dare to let herself fall asleep. Goodness, the last thing she needed was to have another one of her wet dreams with the subject of her desires right there.

 

* * *

 

“Mmm... I’m having that dream again,” Hunnigan mumbled sleepily in the morning when she realized she was lying in Helena’s arms, safe and sound after having dozed off despite her best efforts to stay awake.  
“What dream?” Helena whispered.

“The one in which we’re...” Hunnigan began, but managed to interrupt herself, suddenly fully awake, “I’m not asleep am I?” she then inquired.

“Nope, I don’t think so,” Helena chuckled softly.  
“Well, this is terribly awkward,” Hunnigan mumbled.

“Why?” Helena inquired, proceeding to move her thumb back and forth, gently stroking the skin of Hunnigan’s abdomen as she still held onto the other woman from behind.  
“Please, don’t do that,” Hunnigan muttered.  
“Why?” Helena asked again and Hunnigan sighed.

_Because you’re playing with fire, turning me on without realizing just how emotionally invested I could get if we did anything, because I’m fucking falling in love with you and I fucking want you so bad it literally aches, and I can’t do anything about it and you’re... just... there and taunting me with it, having no fucking idea how bad it feels to feel this good._

“Hunnigan?”  
“What?”

“I thought you’d fallen asleep, you were quiet for like five minutes,” Helena chuckled. Hunnigan didn’t comment, instead she placed her hand over Helena’s, gripping it firmly to prevent the tiny arousing movement of Helena’s thumb that had been stroking her.

“Um... I didn’t say anything too embarrassing or break anything last night... did I?” Helena then inquired awkwardly, unable to remember much of what had happened after they’d left the club.

_Just my heart when you said you’ve been contemplating suicide._

“No, we’re good,” Hunnigan said with a falsely light tone, patting the back of Helena’s hand before hurrying to sit up.  
“Don’t...” Helena pleaded weakly.  
“What?” Hunnigan frowned over her shoulder.

“Come back, please. I can’t get up now. I’m too hungover. I need you to coddle me.”  
“It’s self-induced pain, I won’t coddle you because of it.”

“Y’know, I’ve heard rumors that sex is a great cure for hangovers,” Helena flirted shamelessly. Hunnigan put her hands on her hips and quirked an eyebrow.  
“Even if that were a confirmed fact, I would not have sex with you just to cure your hangover.”

“Fine, I’ll just masturbate then.”  
“Not in my bed you won’t!” Hunnigan protested and Helena burst out laughing.

“I’m just teasing you... but seriously, I really am super hungover and I would seriously need darkness, water, junk food, soft sounds and cuddles, please-thank you,” Helena murmured in a half-whisper, burying herself deeper into Hunnigan’s bed like staying there were the most natural thing in the world.

“Can you actually eat?” Hunnigan then inquired in a defeated tone, already having decided she’d go grab Helena a cheeseburger if the younger woman genuinely felt like she needed junk food.  
“...no,” Helena admitted slowly.  
“Can you drink water?”  
“...probably not.”

“I bet you can’t cuddle in the dark then either,” Hunnigan smirked sarcastically.  
“Only if you hold me, whispering stuff to me, preferably in a foreign language I do not understand,” Helena mumbled weakly.

“How are you at Spanish?” Hunnigan asked in a soft chuckle.  
“I know enough of it to get into a knife fight... so not great,” Helena responded, pulled Hunnigan to the bed again and when she lay down on her back, Helena moved to rest her head over Hunnigan’s shoulder, wrapping her arm and leg around her body firmly.

“Tickle my arm and whisper things,” Helena demanded again and Hunnigan had to chuckle at the younger woman’s frankness. Who said women women weren’t straight-forward about what they really wanted?

Hunnigan inhaled deeply, held it in for a long moment and gave in. She raked her fingernails up and down along Helena’s forearm, turned to the younger woman’s ear and proceeded to recite the lyrics to Rick Astley’s “Never gonna give you up” in Spanish, barely managing to keep from letting the tune of the song sneaking into the words and chuckling at Rickrolling the younger woman who didn’t realize what was happening.

“Hey, you said you’re having that dream again. You’ve been having dreams about me?” Helena suddenly asked and Hunnigan almost swallowed her tongue.  
“I, uh... Maybe...”

“What kind of dreams?” Helena taunted, obviously determined not to let Hunnigan off the hook.  
“Nothing out of the ordinary...”

 _...if I were a teenaged boy, that is_ , Hunnigan elaborated privately. Helena turned to stare at her intensely.

“...you’re a terrible liar,” she murmured, slipping her hand up along Hunnigan’s ribs, letting her thumb lightly tease the soft underside of her breast. She then moved her leg, sliding over to straddle Hunnigan’s waist and ran her hands up her sides in a firm yet soft caress.

“Stop. Just... stop,” Hunnigan scowled, gripping Helena’s arms and shoving her aside more forcefully than she’d really intended to. She sat up on the edge of the bed, ran her hand over her face and sighed.

“I’m sorry, but I really don’t have it in me to approach this subject with such ease.”  
“It’s not how I...”

“Just because I’m a lesbian, it doesn’t mean I function like a dude, you know,” Hunnigan scoffed, the anger slowly dripping away from her voice when she realized this was the first time she’d openly referred to herself as a lesbian. Prior to this, she’d referred to herself as bi or straight... both outrageous lies because she’d never really shown genuine interest toward men. She’d tried (oh, God, had she tried) and there were men she respected and liked, she’d even genuinely loved a few, but she’d never wanted to sleep with any of them.

“I’m acting like a stupid fifteen year old around you because I really like you, and the only frame of reference I have is the twenty-something guys I’ve been with before, and this... ridiculous and frank behavior’s never failed with them.”

“Oh, for the love of Christ, Helena, that isn’t... It’s not how any of this works,” Hunnigan groaned, intentionally choosing to ignore what Helena had told her about liking her. That simply seemed too good to be true. Evidently Helena could say something like that casually, completely oblivious and not realizing just how high she’d accidentally managed to hitch the other woman’s hopes before bringing them tumbling down, letting them crash and smash into pieces as they landed harshly, impacting with the cold, hard surface of reality.

“I know, that’s the ridiculous part of it all... I know it’s not how it... and still I don’t know how else to approach it.”

“I’m... literally too old for this shit,” Hunnigan grumbled. The last thing she wanted or needed was to serve as some adolescent experiment, especially since she was so easily willing to put down a genuine emotional investment, painfully aware that Helena wasn’t at all likely to reciprocate.

“You’re not, I’m just too childish about it,” Helena said.  
“I’m not interested in playing games or casually sleeping with you just because you’re curious,” Hunnigan managed agitatedly from between clenched teeth.

“I’m not trying to play with you and when I said I want to be friends, I meant that too. I want...” Helena began but she was interrupted by Hunnigan’s phone ringing. She reached over to the nightstand and chuckled a little when she saw who was calling.

“Good morning, agent Kennedy. To what do I owe the pleasure?” she inquired, not even attempting to keep the mirth from her voice.

“...how quickly could you get me a temporary passport which would allow me to cross from Canada back to the U.S.?” Leon inquired and Hunnigan blew out an exasperated breath. Times like this she had to wonder just how blurry the line between friendship and being a glorified babysitter actually was.

 

* * *

 

“Do I even want to know how you lost your passport and how you ended up here in the first place?” Hunnigan asked when she arrived at the U.S. consulate in Montréal to pick up one Leon Scott Kennedy and help him deal with the aftermath of his drunken misadventures.

“I’m pretty sure I was roofied,” Leon offered weakly as if that would explain everything.

“You didn’t get in trouble did you? I’d rather not have to deal with some kind of a diplomatic incident in addition to having to bring you back home,” Hunnigan muttered. Judging from the fact that he’d already received his emergency passport and was just waiting for a ride home, he’d behaved himself... or at the very least hadn’t gotten caught after whatever mischief he may have been involved in.

“I might have insulted their national sports... but in my defense, both hockey and lacrosse are ridiculous sports anyway.”  
“I respectfully disagree,” Hunnigan pursed her lips into a pout and Leon quirked an eyebrow.

“You play hockey?” he asked slowly. No way she played hockey.  
“Lacrosse. Well, used to in high school,” Hunnigan shrugged, “Go Vikings,” she added dryly as Leon slumped into the backseat.

“Well, in that case I apologize for any derogatory remarks I may have made of said sport, and hope that you will still agree to take me home,” he requested sheepishly as he lay down and crossed his arm over his eyes.  
“Buckle up, buddy, it’s gonna be a long drive home,” Hunnigan sighed and started the car. She’d decided to drive instead of flying or taking a train, she enjoyed driving and frankly, the long drive was a great excuse to just get away from everything... and everyone, especially Helena.

Leon would’ve preferred a quicker method of travel, but since he had no money on him and wasn’t able to somehow convince the agency that this was a business trip, a car ride it was. He knew Hunnigan had a soft spot for him and his occasional shenanigans, but he wasn’t about to abuse it nor was he brave enough to push it by requesting a little personal loan in the form of a first class plane ticket.

Leon spent most of the trip snoozing in the backseat, sleeping off one of the nastiest hangovers he’d experienced in his life. When he finally sat up, Hunnigan smirked at him through the rear view mirror.

“Do you feel as terrible as you look?” she taunted and Leon let out an amused scoff.  
“Probably,” he yawned, “Where are we?” he then inquired.

“Somewhere around Philadelphia, so it’ll be a couple more hours. Feel like filling me in on what happened to you after the club?”  
“Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing,” he grinned devilishly, resting his elbows to the front seats as he leaned over from the middle seat in the back.

“I bet your story is more interesting,” Hunnigan deflected.  
“It might be if I remembered half of it. After you two abandoned me... thanks a lot for that by the way...”

“You’re welcome.”

“...I met this crazy chick... crazy in the fun kind of way, not the scary way... and we got to talking and she convinced me that I wasn’t allowed to say no to anything she suggested, so we ended up doing a lot of stuff. I’m pretty sure we went to roller derby, and I think I might have a tattoo on my-”

“Okay, too much information.”

“Annd... then I wake up in a hostel underneath a pile of laundry and teenagers from Finland or Sweden... or some other country from that part of the world, I can’t remember. Obviously, by now all my stuff’s long gone, as is the chick I met. And... then I called you and here we are. Shit, I don’t think I ever actually hooked up with that woman,” he sighed.

“My heart goes out for you,” Hunnigan commented, her voice dripping with sarcasm.  
“So,” Leon cleared his throat and poked her shoulder with his elbow.

“I’m guessing you’re expecting a titillating story about the sexual escapades between myself and one agent Harper.”

“Well yeah, kind of,” he nodded.  
“Sorry to burst your bubble, but nothing happened.”

“Come on! Have you seen her tits? They’re bigger than my head! How could you not hit that?” Leon whined and Hunnigan rolled her eyes.

“Well, first of all, she was drunk and in no condition to consent, if I’d done something, I’d have to consider myself a rapist.”  
“Yeah, I’m sure the millions of people having drunk sex go turn themselves in at sex crimes the morning after,” Leon interjected sarcastically.

“And secondly, I need a bit more than ‘well, she has nice boobs’ to get excited, so excuse me for not getting a lady boner every time I see a pair of breasts.”  
“There is no excuse for that. Times like these I can’t help but think that the whole concept of carnal desires and animal instinct is totally wasted on you. Especially when considering that kiss she gave you.”

“I have the same instincts as anyone else, but I’m not an animal and am more than capable of dismissing the urge to screw everything that moves,” Hunnigan scoffed.

“That’s just a fancy way of saying you’re a prude,” Leon taunted and Hunnigan sighed deeply. She wasn’t a prude, on the contrary if she was honest. But, for her to even seriously consider having sex with someone was a matter of trust. Allowing another person into her life, to know her intimately, leaving her own vulnerabilities out in the open for another to witness required a lot of trust. She needed to know the other person, needed to be able to trust them.

“If wanting sex to actually mean something makes me a prude, then so be it. Now, can we just drop the damn subject?” Hunnigan growled then.  
“Well, I still think it’s a damn shame you didn’t get with Helena. You two would look good together. Trust me, I know, I’ve thought about it often enough,” he grinned.

“One more word out of you and I’ll turn this car around and dump you back in Canada. Don’t think that I won’t.”

 

***


	5. I feel you

 

 

Hunnigan got off her bicycle and went to lock it before turning to head into the building. As she was crossing the parking lot, she briefly glanced across as movement caught her attention. An involuntary reaction, an instinct built in every human, she thought nothing of it at first. Then she had to look again, this time putting more thought into it. It was Helena, but not her car. She reached over to the driver to plant a kiss onto his cheek before stepping out and waving goodbye to the man as he drove off.

The tidal wave of jealousy crashing over Hunnigan surprised her. It was ridiculous. Logically, Hunnigan knew perfectly well she had absolutely no claim to Helena. Hell, the younger woman didn’t even know about Hunnigan’s feelings for her. But as ridiculous as Hunnigan knew it was, it was also surprisingly painful.

 _Well, of course she has a boyfriend, why am I even surprised?_ she mused silently as she walked up the stone steps toward the entrance of the building. She was surprised because Helena had confessed to feeling lonely and had never mentioned a boyfriend... which, Hunnigan felt, she should’ve done before practically throwing herself at Hunnigan the other night. Unless the boyfriend was a very recent addition to Helena’s life of course.

 _Regardless, just goes to show I was right about her merely wanting to use me as an experiment to satisfy her curiosity,_ Hunnigan sighed, stepped into the elevator and hit the button.

Once at her floor, she headed to her desk, logged on and began putting together briefs and coordinating missions. Just another day like so many before it... but somehow it felt disappointing. Life still hadn’t begun.

 

* * *

 

“What the hell is this?” Helena frowned at Hunnigan. She knew what it was, but engaged in some theatrics regardless. She took the paper from Helena, adjusted her glasses and pretended to read.  
“I believe this is a briefing containing details of your next assignment, you’re on protective detail and are to extract a subject. Looks pretty much like a routine lift,” she shrugged innocently.

“In Turkmenistan!” Helena scoffed.  
“Evidently, yes. Is there a problem?”

“You’re damn fucking right there’s a problem, I don’t wanna go there.”  
“Well, I’m afraid you don’t have a choice,” Hunnigan quirked an eyebrow.

“Admit it, you assigned me this shit job just to get rid of me for a while,” Helena narrowed her eyes and towered over Hunnigan, leaning her right arm to Hunnigan’s desk as the put her left hand on her hip defiantly.

“If you have a problem with how coordinate missions and assign agents to them, feel free to take it up with director Shepard,” Hunnigan commented confidently in a low, calm voice. They both knew doing that would be a waste of time, Shepard wasn’t one to put up with petty issues, there was a big picture to consider, one or two agents’ personal preferences didn’t matter. Besides, he’d never had any reason to question Hunnigan’s competency, occasionally he even let her overstep her boundaries, a decision he’d never honestly regretted. If Helena were to complain about a mission to him, he’d laugh her out of the office.

“I’m specifically assigned for domestic deployments, this isn’t my department and you know it.”

“We’re short on agents at the moment, everyone’s gotta step out of their comfort zone every once in a while to compesate,” Hunnigan said honestly, “Besides, being deployed internationally wasn’t an issue for you when I indulged your personal vendetta and let you run off to China,” she added, her eyebrow quirking.

“That was different!” Helena hissed. It was, they both knew it, but at the same time, Hunnigan did have a point.

“You have your orders, you can stand here whining about them or you can go and get it over with. As I said, if you have a problem, take it up with Shepard. Otherwise, do your job and let me do mine,” Hunnigan said in a frosty voice before turning back to her computer and ignoring Helena.

 

* * *

 

Leon pulled the earbuds from his ears and was about to exit the gym at the training facility in the HQ’s basement floor when a loud thumping noise caught his attention. He’d thought he was alone at the gym and went to see who it was.

“Whoa, what did Everlast do to deserve that kind of a beating?” he inquired amusedly as he watched Helena smash her fists against the punching bag with excessive force and speed, sweat coating her face, neck and shoulders left visible by the tank top she wore.

“Back off, or you’re next,” Helena threatened in a huff and delivered another series of punches in a furious staccato. Instead of commenting, Leon went to stand behind the bag and held it in place for her. After a few more minutes of angry beating, Helena stopped, exhausted and out of breath, and still not feeling much better than she had when she’d started in the hopes of being able to get rid of her frustration.

“Wanna talk about it?” Leon finally asked when Helena sunk her teeth into the strap at the glove’s wrist to pull it open. She explained the reason for her frustration as she pulled the gloves off and proceeded to wipe the sweat from her face with a small towel. Leon shrugged a little after listening to her grievance.

“I don’t honestly think Hunnigan’s petty enough to assign you on a crappy mission just to get back at you for something,” he said.  
“I didn’t either until just now,” Helena huffed.

“Well, have you actually done something to piss her off so badly she’d do something like that?” Leon then asked a very valid question. Helena couldn’t really think of anything. Well, other than the whole throwing herself at Hunnigan the morning after excessive drinking, but Hunnigan had said not to worry about it. While Helena wasn’t quite willing to say the matter was closed, she didn’t think Hunnigan had let it genuinely bother her either.

“I don’t think so, but I don’t know, I’ve done a lot of stupid things recently, kissing her at the club is just the top of the ice berg.”  
“Oh?” Leon’s eyebrows rose in surprise. Helena realized he didn’t know about the events that had followed afterward. How could he, she hadn’t told him and Hunnigan certainly wasn’t the type to kiss and tell.

“No need to get so excited, nothing happened,” Helena rolled her eyes at him and he sighed in disappointment.  
“Yeah, Hunnigan said as much, but I was kind of hoping she was just being modest.”

“Well, it’s not that I didn’t try,” Helena blurted out before taking a long sip of water. Leon didn’t comment, just stared at her, expecting for further details. She sighed.  
“I’m not exactly used to being turned down, it was embarrassing,” she admitted.

“So, let me get this straight-ish...”  
“Ha-ha,” Helena interjected sarcastically at his terrible pun.

“...you made a pass at her, she turned you down, and now to get back at you for expressing interest toward her, she’s shipping you off to Turkmenistan,” Leon summarized.  
“Well, it sounds far-fetched when you say it like that!”

“Maybe because it actually _is_ far-fetched?”  
“Oh, screw you for being right,” Helena scoffed and Leon chuckled. Another moment for the history books, a woman admitting a man was right.

“So, how about you deal with this like the professional adult that you are, go do your job and think nothing of it. Work’s not meant to be fun anyway,” he smirked.

 

* * *

 

Routine lift, nothing broken, nothing lost. The asset was safe and sound, spilling his guts out with any bit of intel he had on the sleeper agents involved in possible acts of bioterrorism. In other words, mission accomplished. Despite it all having gone over smoothly, Helena was agitated. Hunnigan was being professional as always, not letting her personal feelings regarding the recent events shine through at any point, and Helena had to admire that. However, she didn’t appreciate the cold shoulder she was getting. She didn’t believe she’d deserved it, she couldn’t understand why Hunnigan was being so distant.

“Gee, it sure is raining hard,” Helena began slowly as she stood by the entrance to the HQ with Leon who was waiting for the worst to pass.  
“Don’t...” he warned her.

“I think that... I think that you should’ve...”  
“Don’t say it.”

“...brought an Umbrella!” Helena finished the joke that so bad it was almost good, and Leon chuckled, shaking his head.  
“That’s terrible.”

“I know, but I couldn’t help myself,” Helena laughed softly. She was about to light a cigarette and wait with him when she noticed Hunnigan make her way to her bike, evidently not fazed by the rain.

“Gotta go,” Helena said cheerfully and moved out. Leon quirked an eyebrow at the sudden departure, but chuckled then when he realized what the reason was.

“Hunnigan!” Helena called out and the older woman paused, took off her glasses and wiped them to her sleeve, an exercise in futility really because her vision would be just as obscured by the rain five seconds later.  
“Come on, I’ll give you a ride,” Helena offered.

“I’m not made of sugar, I won’t melt in a bit of rain.”  
“Don’t be stubborn, you’ll catch a cold.”

“They are caused by viruses and bacteria, catching a cold because of weather is a myth,” Hunnigan scoffed and unlocked her bike.  
“Indulge me. I want to talk to you.”

“How do you expect me to get to work tomorrow if I leave my bike here?” Hunnigan reasoned and Helena rolled her eyes.  
“I’ll pick you up in the morning, how about that? Don’t make me beg. I will if I have to, but it won’t be pretty.”

“All right,” Hunnigan sighed in defeat and locked her bike before following Helena across the parking lot and to her car. They sat in silence for the first few minutes of the drive until Helena finally broke it.  
“Look, I’m sorry I came bitching at you about the mission.”  
“It’s fine.”

“So you say, but it doesn’t feel like it.”  
“I don’t know what to tell you.”  
“Tell me you’re so angry at me. Is it because of the kiss? Or what happened after? Because...”

“I’m not angry at you,” Hunnigan murmured, shaking her head a little. At this point she was more angry at herself and somewhat sad because she’d seen Helena with the mystery man the other day.

“Then why do you behave like I’d just shot your children in front of you?” Helena demanded.  
“We’re here, pull over,” Hunnigan said instead of answering. For a few moments Helena contemplated on just driving and not letting Hunnigan leave before she’d answered her questions. She decided not to do that though, there was no way that would end well.

“Thanks for the ride,” Hunnigan said in her now so familiar clipped tone and got out of the car. Helena stayed still, drummed her fingers against the steering wheel for a moment before she cut the engine, got out as well and followed Hunnigan inside.

“Would you just fucking talk to me?” she demanded a little too loudly in the apartment building’s hallway as she hurried to the elevator and slid in just before the doors closed. Hunnigan sighed deeply, she’d hoped the younger woman wouldn’t make it to the elevator. Not her lucky day.

“About what?” she asked.  
“About what’s wrong because obviously something’s bothering you!”

_You broke my heart and you don’t even know you did. I understand why you’d be confused, but I can’t really explain myself. Not without losing face anyway._

“I can keep apologizing, but I doubt it’ll make a difference if I don’t even know what the hell it is that I did!” Helena huffed angrily.  
“Nothing, you didn’t do anything!” Hunnigan argued, beginning to lose her temper as well. This conversation was inconsequential.

The elevator arrived at her floor and she exited, hoping Helena would just let it go. Fat chance. Instead, she stubbornly followed Hunnigan to her apartment. She didn’t go as far as to step inside behind her, but she did remain at the entrance, firmly placing her foot between the door to keep Hunnigan from just slamming it to her face.

Hunnigan resorted to the “maybe if I ignore her, she’ll go away”-method. She peeled off her jacket and kicked her shoes off, undid her hair and removed her glasses before toweling her wet hair as if Helena wasn’t still just standing there, waiting for an explanation. When she showed no signs of leaving, Hunnigan rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips.

“Well, don’t just fucking stand there, get in,” she ordered impatiently. Helena’s eyebrows rose in surprise at the command, but she did as she was told and closed the door behind her.

“So?” Helena then asked, crossing her arms underneath her breasts and shifting her weight from one leg to the other. Hunnigan shook her head slowly, she had nothing to say, no explanation she was willing to offer.

“You’re welcome to stand there until doomsday for all I care, but won’t your boyfriend wonder where you are?” she inquired instead, more than just a few drops of venom lacing her voice.  
“I don’t have a boyfriend,” Helena frowned deeply at first, then tilted her head back a little when she realized who Hunnigan had to be referring to.

“James isn’t my boyfriend, he’s a friend from the army. I did pretend to be his girlfriend on a few occasions back when the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’-rule was still a thing, but that’s as hot and heavy as it got,” Helena explained, now kind of amused when she realized Hunnigan must’ve seen them when he’d given her a ride a few days back. Hunnigan didn’t comment, what was there to say?

“You’re jealous,” Helena then realized, her tone somewhat victorious after having finally put the puzzle together. Hunnigan’s face remained expressionless... except for that one, barely noticeable twitch that revealed everything and then some.

“Now that’d be pretty ridiculous, don’t you think?” Hunnigan tried dismissing the claim.

“Yeah, totally, and it would be so unlike you, but so has your recent behavior been too, which is why I’m certain I’m right,” Helena drawled. Hunnigan swiveled around without uttering a word. She couldn’t look at Helena, she knew her mortified blush would confirm everything she’d already involuntarily revealed. Instead, she stepped into the kitchen to grab Carl/Coral’s food and went to feed the snake, once again acting like Helena wasn’t even there.

“Do you realize how childish you’re being?” Helena inquired.  
“Do you realize how annoying you’re being?” Hunnigan countered, intentionally childishly, gripped the rodent with the feeding tongs and presented Carl/Coral with the food. The snake didn’t seem bothered or aware of the argument going on around him, instead he happily focused his attention to the rodent and devouring it. Hunnigan locked the tank and went to rinse the tongs and wash her hands, trying desperately to find something to busy herself with to avoid having to face Helena.

“For Christ’s sakes, Hunnigan. Can’t you just talk to me about this? I try to be your friend, you shrug me off. I try to give you space, you still get mad at me. What do you want from me?” the younger woman sighed, realizing this sounded like a conversation to be had when already in a relationship with someone... which was silly considering she didn’t think she even had earned the privilege of calling Hunnigan her friend yet, let alone elevate herself to the status of a girlfriend.

Hunnigan tossed the tongs into the sink, too agitated to give a damn about the excess noise they made as they rattled against the stainless steel.

“What I want,” she repeated in a scoff and shook her head before finally turning to Helena. They looked at each other for a long moment, the dark amber eyes staring defiantly into the blue-gray ones that met her bravado with an equal amount of frustration and... something else bubbling underneath the anger. Desire. Longing. Lust.

Hunnigan stepped over to her and grabbed the front of Helena’s jacket. The leather creaked in her grip as she pulled Helena to herself, spun them around and directed her toward the bed in an almost violent shove. Once they were by the bed, Hunnigan kissed Helena hard enough to bruise her lips, slipping her fingers underneath the jacket and pushing it off of Helena’s shoulders. After recovering from her initial surprise, Helena responded to the kiss, hungrily letting her teeth graze Hunnigan’s lower lip, breaking the kiss briefly to pull the other woman’s T-shirt and bra off and carelessly tossed them aside before pressing her mouth against Hunnigan’s firmly again, letting her hands roam down to undo Hunnigan’s belt and pants, tucking her fingers underneath the waistband and pushing the underwear down with the pants. Once Hunnigan was naked, Helena turned her attention to her own clothing and undressed hastily, not wanting to go for longer than two seconds without having her skin in contact with Hunnigan’s.

Helena then nudged them toward the bed once more, leaning over Hunnigan as she lay down wrapping her arms and legs around Helena, then surprising the younger woman by rolling them over so that she could straddle Helena. She grinned at the surprised expression on Helena’s face and reached down to leave a trail of passionate kisses on Helena’s neck and shoulder, making her way higher and bite her earlobe.

“I’ve wanted you from the first time I saw you,” she confessed in a breathless whisper, her back bending underneath the touch of Helena’s fingernails raking up the backs of her thighs, across her buttocks and along her spine. Helena let out an approving quiet hum at that and at the feel of Hunnigan’s chest press against her own. She then nudged her leg a little, and Hunnigan smoothed into the movement, readjusting herself so that she was straddling Helena’s thigh, her knee pressing firmly between Helena’s legs, the wetness that greeted her skin and smeared on it when it made contact causing another lance of arousal to pierce Hunnigan’s abdomen.

She trailed her mouth down across Helena’s collarbones and to her chest, grunting in pleasure at the tug when Helena tangled her fingers into her hair and balled her hand into a fist, tensing the muscle of her toned thigh to offer Hunnigan a firmer surface to grind against. She accepted the offer, rocking herself slowly against the younger woman as she enclosed her mouth around Helena’s nipple, sucking lightly and swirling her tongue over and around it, making Helena arch her back to press her chest tighter against Hunnigan’s mouth in a silent plead for more.

Hunnigan moved lower, flattening her tongue against the smooth skin, longing to taste more of it, more of her. She paused at the younger woman’s navel, shifting a little to nudge her legs further apart before wrapping her arms around Helena’s thighs and gripping firmly as she slid her tongue lower, a soft moan escaping her lips when she tasted Helena.

Helena’s hips bucked a little and Hunnigan tightened her hold on them, slipping the tip of tongue down to tease Helena’s entrance before bringing it back higher, flattening it against the younger woman’s clit, rubbing a torturously slow circle, adding a little more pressure, easing to match the movements of Helena’s hips.

“Oh, God!” she gasped when Hunnigan brought her left hand between Helena’s legs, teasing the slick folds for a moment before pushing past them and curling her fingers, reaching for the front wall and pressing against a particularly sweet spot within.

Helena tensed up, her breaths becoming short and uncontrolled as the pleasure grew almost too intense. Hunnigan added a bit more pressure and speed, eagerly pushing Helena further and further toward the edge until she went crashing over it, her fingernails gripping at the sheets turning into talons as she held on in almost a desperate manner when her body couldn’t take it anymore. Her back arched high and a loud moan escaped her, emanating from deep within her chest as she came harder than she recalled ever coming before, every muscle in her body tensing before violently shattering into sweet release. Hunnigan remained where she was, slowing her pace, patiently easing Helena back from the edge. When the after shocks ceased, she slowly moved to plant soft kisses on the insides of Helena’s thighs, caressing the outer sides with long, gentle strokes.

After recovering, Helena sat up, gripped the backs of Hunnigan’s knees and pulled the other woman to straddle her lap, wrapping her arm around her body and holding her tightly against herself, slipping her right hand between their bodies. Hunnigan put her arms around Helena’s shoulders and buried her face into her neck, biting down on the flawlessly shaped deltoid to muffle a moan when Helena slid two fingers inside her, the upper pad of her hand pressing sweetly against her clit as she rocked in Helena’s lap.

Sensing the other woman was wanting more, Helena rolled them over so that Hunnigan was lying on her back with her arms and legs still firmly around Helena. The younger woman pressed her hips against the back of her hand for more pressure, undulating against Hunnigan, slowly at first, then picking up the pace to match Hunnigan’s movements.

Hunnigan tilted her head far back, her mouth open in silent moans and breathless gasps, her throat exposed to Helena who eagerly moved to kiss, then bite, leaving behind gentle bruises as she pressed harder into Hunnigan, building up the pressure and send her to the precipice and over. It didn’t take much. Not after all the time she’d wanted this, longed for it. Not after realizing just how much sweeter it all was in reality.

“Come for me,” Helena breathed into her ear and Hunnigan couldn’t prolong it further despite making a half-hearted effort against her body’s intense need for release. She bucked and tensed up for a second before dissolving into shudders, burying her face against Helena’s shoulder as her moans quieted down to soft sobs of pleasure.

Helena remained still where she was for a moment before finally moving to lie next to Hunnigan, resting her forehead against the other woman’s, lazily caressing her palm, across her wrist and to her forearm, then tracing the same trail back to her palm. Hunnigan would’ve wanted to say something, but she couldn’t find her voice or any words for that matter. Instead, she reached over to softly kiss Helena’s lips, smiling into the warmth when Helena returned the gesture in equal gentleness.

She scooted closer, wanting their bodies pressed together, and Helena shifted a little to accommodate that, their limbs entwined comfortably, like they were made for each other.

“...I never realized you were a lefty,” Helena finally broke the silence and Hunnigan let out a hoarse chuckle at the odd comment.  
“I bet there are a lot of things you didn’t know about me,” she smiled smugly, raking her fingernails on Helena’s forearm like she’d recently discovered the younger woman liked done to her.

“I look forward to learning more,” Helena murmured sleepily, a happy and lazy smile on her lips.

“Me too,” Hunnigan whispered, leaned to kiss Helena’s lips once more before resting her chin on the top of her head as Helena snuggled into Hunnigan’s chest, tightening her hold on the other woman and beginning to drift off to sleep listening to the calming sound of Hunnigan’s heartbeat.

Hunnigan reached to pull the blankets over them and let out a satisfied sigh, closing her eyes and letting herself begin falling asleep as well. Saying her dreams had become a reality wouldn’t be accurate, for this time reality was much, much sweeter than any of her dreams had been.

 

***

 


	6. Ampersand (epilogue)

Hunnigan frowned at Leon, becoming uncomfortably aware of his stare as she stood in front of the group of agents delivering a debrief to them. As she glanced around, she realized Leon wasn’t the only one who appeared amused by something.

_Do I have something on my face?_ she wondered silently. She proceeded to finish the debrief and dismissed the team. Leon came up to her afterward, tucked his hands into his pockets and swayed back and forth a little.

“What is it?” she sighed.

“That’s a mighty fine lookin’ hickey you’re sporting, officer Hunnigan,” Leon responded, his velvety voice dripping with syrup and honey.

“What!” Hunnigan exclaimed and brought her hand to feel her neck. She cringed at the sore trail of bruises her fingertips discovered in the spot between her neck and shoulder, stretching all the way down to her collarbone and across it to her chest. How the hell had she not noticed those before? Well, granted, she’d been in quite a hurry this morning, but still...

“Oh, Christ, I’ve been walking around with these on display the entire day,” she groaned as she studied her reflection in the small round mirror of the compact she’d dug from her bag.  
“Pretty much, yeah,” Leon taunted.

“That thing is huge,” Hunnigan blushed as she pushed the collar of her shirt aside a little, revealing more of the most obvious bruise in the shape of Helena’s mouth on the side of her neck.  
“Well, you gotta forgive her, she’s young and overly eager to mark her property,” Leon smirked and Hunnigan’s blush deepened.

“I’m not ‘property’, you jerk,” she muttered, but didn’t manage it quite as convincingly as she’d wanted to. Frankly, the thought of belonging to Helena was oddly... exciting.

“So, you two a couple now? ‘Cuz I gotta know so I’ll know if I should go and buy you a turkey baster for Christmas.”  
“Turkey baster?”

“Well, my knowledge regarding lesbian stereotypes might be a bit rusty, but isn’t it that lesbians bring a moving van or a turkey baster to the second date? A turkey baster is easier to gift wrap, so you’ll have to settle for that. To Lenny&Hunny, with love from Leon, please name your first-born after me and don’t be shy to ask for a donation, I’ll happily provide... on the condition that I get to do it without involving any plastic cups in the process,” he commented sweetly, wiggling his eyebrows a little and Hunnigan rolled her eyes at him.

“You do realize that you wanting to exclude plastic cups from the process would also mean that a turkey baster wouldn’t be necessary either?” Hunnigan taunted after having spotted the obvious flaw in his logic.  
“We could find some other use for it,” he said slowly and Hunnigan made a face at that.

“I’ll remember this conversation the next time you’re stuck in a foreign country after a drunken misadventure and need me to come rescue you,” Hunnigan narrowed her eyes at him.  
“Well, excuse me for openly supporting Hunniper,” Leon pouted and Hunnigan shook her head.

“I’m glad I do not understand what you’re talking about. And to answer your question, I don’t know, we didn’t discuss any details regarding relationships or being exclusive. We’ll see, I guess,” Hunnigan responded, not bothering to tell him she was certainly hoping for this to grow into more. Leon didn’t respond exactly, instead he began humming The Turtles’ “So happy together”before proceeding to scuff away along the hallway. Hunnigan chuckled at his antics and entered her office. Her phone rang and she reached to thumb the screen to pick up.

“Helena, everything okay?” Hunnigan asked as she circled to sit behind her desk, placed the phone on the table and concentrated on attempting to hide the hickey with a generous amount of concealer. It was an exercise in futility.

“Uh... Well, yeah, sort of,” the younger woman mumbled awkwardly and Hunnigan narrowed her eyes, knowing Helena had done something she shouldn’t have. She put the make up away and turned her attention to Helena.  
“What did you do?” she asked.  
“I figured I’d feed your snake for you... but it didn’t, uhm...”

“Did he escape? Because if he did, he likes to hide in the-” Hunnigan began but Helena shook her head.

“No, Carl/Coral is fine and where he’s meant to be,” she said before pausing to chew on her lower lip nervously. Hunnigan was silent for a moment as what must’ve happened dawned on her. Her lips curved into a wide smile slowly.

“You tried to thaw a mouse in the microwave, didn’t you?” she inquired. A very common mistake people tended to make.  
“It... exploded,” Helena admitted slowly and Hunnigan doubled over in laughter, disappearing from the frame as she did.

“Don’t laugh!” Helena pouted.  
“I’m sorry, I’m sure it was very traumatizing for you,” Hunnigan giggled, sat up straight and pushed her glasses to her forehead to be able to wipe the tears of laughter from her eyes.

“I’m not hurt, but I’m startled,” Helena pretended to sniffle and Hunnigan inhaled deeply, trying to suppress another gigglefit as she thought about it.

“You’d better have cleaned that up before I get home,” she teased, “Why were you feeding Carl/Coral anyway, I just fed him yesterday.”  
“Well, I was trying to do something nice for my girlfriend, and I was under the impression that living creatures need to eat daily,” Helena quirked an eyebrow.

“Not snakes, he doesn’t have to be fed more than twice a week, so he’s not due for another meal for a few more days,” Hunnigan explained.  
“Oh. I did not know that,” Helena mumbled.

“It’s okay, honey, I appreciate the gesture anyway.”

“Did you just call me ‘honey’?” Helena grinned and Hunnigan paused.  
“Did you call me your girlfriend?” she countered and it was Helena’s turn to pause.

“I may have let that slip,” she responded awkwardly.  
“Well, that escalated quickly, I guess Leon’s lesbian stereotypes-speech had a point after all.”

“Do I even want to know why you were talking with him about lesbian stereotypes?” Helena quirked an eyebrow.

“After he... and everyone else... saw these, I kind of had to say something and things took off from there,” Hunnigan said, tilting the phone a little and pulling the collar of her shirt aside to reveal the trail of hickeys still clearly visible despite her efforts to conceal them

“Did I do that?” Helena’s eyebrows rose in surprise.  
“Well, they’re not from playing paintball,” Hunnigan commented.

“Okay, I can see why Leon is having a field day with that.”  
“He insists on calling us Lenny&Hunny.”

“That sounds like it could be the name of a law firm ran by bunnies,” Helena laughed, the kind of a genuinely happy laughter emanating deep from within her. The kind of a laughter Hunnigan didn’t recall ever hearing from the younger woman before. The sound and the happiness it represented made Hunnigan’s heart swell.

“I gotta get back to work,” she finally had to change the subject.

“Yeah, okay,” Helena nodded, still chuckling at the mental image she had of bunnies in suits, one of them wearing Hunnigan’s glasses and yelling “OBJECTION!”

“Will I see you after work?”  
“You will... unless you lose your glasses, then I don’t know.”

“You think you’re so funny,” Hunnigan chuckled at the terrible joke.  
“You bring it out in me. You make me happy,” Helena then said more seriously, offering a warm smile.

“Likewise,” Hunnigan murmured, “Okay, now I really gotta go before we get diabetes from all this sweetness,” she then quirked an eyebrow.  
“I’ll risk it and prepare something sweet for tonight. See you later,” Helena said huskily, her smile growing into a seductive smirk she followed up with a wink before ending the call. Hunnigan stared at the darkened screen for a couple of seconds, stunned by the younger woman’s tiny but incredibly sexy gestures.

“Hu,” she exhaled and shook her head. She returned her attention to her work, fully aware of the smitten smile curling her lips as she considered being on one side of an ampersand and Helena being on the other. It felt like the most natural thing in the world, made her feel complete. Life had begun.

 

End


End file.
